The Academy's Class of 2016 Is Its Most Diverse Ever, and It's About Damn Time

After years of swelling controversy over the lack of representation of people of color, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that 683 people who work in film were invited to join the academy, and almost half of them are people of color, according to the Los Angeles Times.

41% of the new academy class comprises people of color http://lat.ms/294Y9Wo pic.twitter.com/mL6wx2zyCJ

New members of the academy were stoked to hear the news that they were now part of Hollywood's most exclusive and influential club. They include actors Anthony Anderson, Chadwick Boseman, John Boyega, Idris Elba, America Ferrera, Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson and many more.

Here's how some of them reacted to the news:

I'd like to thank @TheAcademy!...for welcoming me (& so many fabulous artists) to the class of 2016.https://twitter.com/TheAcademy/status/748234321752793088 ...

I got in! Excited to use my vote to nominate talent that reflects the real world we live in - DIVERSITY.https://twitter.com/thr/status/748234305487331329 ...

A childhood dream for a chubby little Mexican boy just came true :) Meet The Academy's Class of 2016http://www.oscars.org/2016Class

I got in! Excited to use my vote to nominate talent that reflects the real world we live in - DIVERSITY.https://twitter.com/thr/status/748234305487331329 ...

I made The Academy class of 2016https://twitter.com/theacademy/status/748234321752793088 ...

For decades, the overwhelming whiteness of the academy was questioned, but not quite confronted. Then in 2015, April Reign, managing editor of Broadway Black, a website devoted to theater criticism, began a hashtag called #OscarsSoWhite to critique the lack of women and people of color who earn praise from the academy.

OscarsSoWhite they asked to touch my hair.

Reign's observation is backed up by data: the University of Southern California released a study in 2015 showing the overwhelming majority of the top 100 grossing films released in 2014 were made by white men.